A popular Vietnamese sandwich, banh mi features bold Asian flavors balanced with the fresh taste of herbs and greens mixed in. You will love how easy it is to create a banh mi sandwich, almost as much as you will love the great flavors.
To create a banh mi sandwich, you can use beef, pork, or chicken for your protein. If you wanted to make this sandwich vegetarian or vegan-friendly, you could use tofu as well. For this particular recipe, we are using a piece of sirloin beef.
An Asian marinade of garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, and a little sugar is whisked together then poured over the beef. The beef is left to marinate in this sauce for about half an hour before the beef is cooked over the grill.
The beef is then nestled inside a French baguette and topped with lettuce, shredded carrot, fresh cilantro, and onions or shallots. For some extra heat, you can also add in jalapeno slices.
This sandwich is best served right after it’s been prepared, but if you wanted to make it ahead, you can prep and cut your veggies and store them separately from your grilled beef. Then, the day you want to enjoy the sandwich, you can simply assemble all the pieces together.
Summary |
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Cook time: 10 minutes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Idle time: 30 minutes
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Servings:
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Ingredients
- 1 tbsp garlic finely minced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp peanut oil more may be needed
- 1 lb. sirloin sliced very thin
- 5 shallots thinly sliced (or onions)
- 4 French baguettes sandwich size - 8 inches each
- 8 lettuce leaves large leafy type
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 4 sprigs cilantro
Instructions
- Whisk the garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and 1 tbsp. peanut oil together in a small bowl. Place the beef slices in a large ziplock bag, then pour the marinade over the beef. Let the beef rest in this bag for 30 minutes at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight.
- Heat a grill pan until it's hot, then brush a tbsp. of peanut oil over it. Place the marinated beef slices onto the hot grill and cook each side for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until the beef is cooked but not overdone. Transfer the beef to a plate or board to rest while you assemble the rest of the sandwich.
- To the grill, add the shallots or onions. Sauté until they're tender and caramelized.
- Slice into each baguette to create a slit. Brush some of the excess juices from the pan onto the inside half of each baguette. Then add in some beef slices, shallots, lettuce, shredded carrot, and fresh cilantro.
Additional information
Recipe adapted from geniuskitchen.com
